There are a great number of occurrences wherein liquid and particularly water accumulates upon a surface and must be removed for one reason or another. It is obvious that if the liquid is to be removed, the sooner this can be accomplished, the more beneficial. There are a large number of pumps on the market which in combination with auxilliary equipment will efficiently remove the majority of the liquid leaving a thin layer or residue which cannot be accommodated and must be removed by other methods. The reason the pumps presently on the market cannot remove all of the liquid is that they are in general water pumps and, as such, need to have the entry or suction nozzle completely immersed in water in order to function. Following the removal of the majority of the liquid by the equipment mentioned hereinabove, then there are available back pack type units having more precise and thus lower volume capacity nozzles which can be used on an intermittent basis to remove the majority of the remainder of the water. One problem with the back pack unit is that they store the removed liquid in a carried cannister and thus have a limited capacity. A great deal of time and manpower is required to remove this remaining water.
The present invention utilizes a novel concept in water removal and as a result, can be used much more efficiently to remove the residual water following the gross or bulk removal. A prime mover, usually a gasoline driven engine, is mounted upon a hand manipulated wheeled framework and is used to drive an air pump also mounted upon the framework. A reservoir and combination filter, and aeration mechanism is mounted adjacent to and preferably on top of the air pump which has its inlet connected to the reservoir and within the filter body. The reservoir is closed and a vacuum cleaner type conduit is attached to a port in the upper portion of the reservoir. With the engine running, an operator with a wand, preferably with a squeegee type tool on the end sweeps the floor and the remaining water and debris is sucked through the hose into the reservoir. The water is then aerated by means of a tube mounted interiorly of the reservoir but extending upwardly above the normal liquid level and is sucked down, passing through the air pump and out the discharge for the air pump. Obviously, the discharge may have a hose attached for transporting liquid to a distant point such that it is removed from the premises.
A novelty search has not been performed.
With the above noted prior art and problems in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism whereby water may be quickly and efficiently removed from a surface.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a mechanism whereby a mixture of air and water can be efficiently passed through an air pump to be discharged at a distant point.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a mechanism at the input of an air pump to mix air with liquid to enable the passage of the liquid through the air pump without overloading the pump.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a portable apparatus for removing all of the liquid from a flat undrained surface.